Author: kcsll1bill

Start Gardening Season With Our Great Seed Swaps

Laura got Painted Lady heirloom runner beans, and Frank scored some seeds of Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato, an heirloom squash. If you want to grow heirlooms in your garden this year, look for seeds of these “plantsshoppers 2017 swap with character” at the annual Great Seed Swaps, being held by the King County Seed Lending Library in January and February.

The first seed swap will be Saturday, Jan. 27 in Northwest Seattle. Three more swaps will be held Feb. 10: one in Northeast Seattle, one in South Seattle and the other in Duvall in the Snoqualmie Valley. A fifth swap will be in West Seattle on Feb. 25.

more shoppers 2017 swap

The swaps include seed sharing and education. Attendees are urged to bring seeds to share, but it is not required. The swaps are free and open to all.

How to participate:

  • Share only seeds of edible plants that your fellow gardeners would grow from seed, such as annual vegetables, herbs and edible flowers.
  • If donating packaged seed, it should be organic or open-pollinated, plant types that will produce seed true to the stated variety. Heirlooms are by definition open-pollinated.
  • If donating home-saved seed, please winnow and clean it off the stems or stalks as much as possible and bring only the seed.
  • If you can’t clean it in advance, plan to spend some time cleaning it the swap. Some swaps will have screens and buckets available.
  • All shared seed should be fresh, within three years of purchase or saving.
  • Label all seed donations with seed type, variety if known, and year it was grown/saved.
  • Bring envelopes and a pen to store and label your new seeds.

Details of each event:

Saturday, Jan. 27, 1-4 p.m. — The Great Seed Swap – Northwest Seattle, Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., in the Community Hall of the Brick Building.

Saturday, Feb. 10, 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Snoqualmie Valley Seed Exchange, Cedarcrest High School, 29000 NE 150th St., Duvall, http://snoqualmievalleyseedexchange.org

Saturday, Feb. 10, noon-4 p.m., Community Seed Exchange – South Seattle, Seattle Farm Co-op, 5133 South Director Street, Seattle, http://www.seattlefarmcoop.com/

Saturday, Feb. 10, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., The Great Seed Swap -Northeast Seattle, Meadowbrook Community Center, NE 105th and 35th Ave/ NE, http://sustainableneseattle.ning.com/events/save-the-date-viii-annual-handson-a-community-skills-share-fair

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2-3:30 p.m., The Great Seed Swap – West Seattle, Seattle Public Library, West Seattle Branch, 2306 42nd Ave. SW, www.seattlefarmschool.com

and more shoppers 2017 swap

About the KCSLL

The King County Seed Lending Library operates four branches around Seattle and one in the Snoqualmie Valley. Each take seed donations and offer small quantities of seeds year round to local gardeners.

Give Back at Seed Homecoming Oct. 6

Are you saving seed from a crop you loved? Share it with us at our annual Seed Homecoming on Friday, October 6!

chard seed
Seed of Rainbow Chard being winnowed.

Perhaps you grew out a plant from a variety you got at our Seed Swap in January, or just have lots of leftover seed from your gardening purchases this year.

You can share seed and help others grow a garden by bringing your extra supply to our table at the Phinney Farmers Market in Northwest Seattle. The King County Seed Lending Library will be accepting seed from 4 to 7 p.m.

Our Seed Homecoming marks the end of the traditional growing season, when gardeners are getting ready to put their gardens to bed.

Seed sharing at the farmers market
KCSLL Coordinator Bill Thorness shares seeds with a farmers market attendee. Photo by Lee Harper.

Combat the Popularity Contest

Saving seed is a vital step in keeping alive our most-beloved or possibly rare varieties of edible plants.

In a marketplace ruled by popularity, where only the best-selling varieties are propogated, the future diversity of our gardens may depend on our tenacity in keeping alive a wide selection of cultivars.

What Seeds We’re Seeking

The King County Seed Lending Library, now with five branches, has the capacity to store and distribute a lot of seed, but we focus on particular types of seed.

  • Please donate only seeds of edible plants that your fellow gardeners would grow from seed, such as annual vegetables, herbs and edible flowers.seed in jars
  • If donating packaged seed, it should be organic or open-pollinated, plant types that will produce seed true to the stated variety.
  • If donating home-saved seed, please winnow and clean it off the stems or stalks as much as possible and bring only the seed.
  • If you can’t clean it in advance, plan to spend some time cleaning it at our booth. We will have screens and buckets available.
  • All donated seed should be fresh, within three years of purchase or saving.
  • Please label all donations with seed type, variety if known, and year it was grown/saved.

Bonus: This year, thanks to a donation from our friends at the Seattle Farm Co-op, we will be giving away a small amount of mixed cover crop seed to anyone who brings seed for donation (or to anyone who stops at the booth, if we have enough to share). This is the perfect time to plant a cover crop to help enrich your soil on empty garden beds over the winter.

Attend OSA’s Community Field Day on Sept. 25

The Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) will host its annual community field day  and variety tasting on September 25th from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Chimacum, Washington. All are invited to join in the celebration, taste new varieties of organic produce, and learn about OSA’s cutting-edge research in the field. In addition to the variety tasting, local chefs will serve appetizers that showcase the culinary potential of what’s growing in local trials. 

OSA is a local nonprofit with a national reach. It is known for its leadership in organic seed research, education, and advocacy, and participates in collaborative research with farmers, universities, and seed companies from coast to coast. The September gathering celebrates the third annual harvest at OSA’s Washington research farm, which serves as the hub of its Pacific Northwest organic plant breeding, seed education, and variety trial projects. The event also allows OSA to thank its strong and growing community of friends in the region and beyond.

The field tour will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the variety tasting and chef showcase following from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. OSA’s research farm is part of the Chimacum Farm Collaborative located at the Finnriver Orchard and Cidery, which will be open for no-host tastings and purchases.

The event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are encouraged but not required. RSVP today at seedalliance.org/events.

The Finnriver Orchard and Cidery is located at 124 Center Road, Chimacum, Washington, 98325.

Seattle Farm Co-op Debuts Seed Library at Plant Swap

Free plants? And free seeds? Can it be true?

Yes, this Sunday, May 14, 1-3 p.m. at the Seattle Farm Co-op in Rainier Valley, gardeners can take part in a free plant swap.

As if that’s not enough, the co-op will have edible seeds to browse and share — because they have become the newest location for the King County Seed Lending Library!

Farm Co-op plant swap

The plant swap is co-sponsored by the farm co-op and the Rainier Valley Rotary Club. They invite all Southeast Seattle gardeners to bring plants to swap and bring gardening questions.

The Farm Co-op store will be open, so you can browse the gardening supplies and animal feed. The co-op hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Farm Co-op Ad

Join us for Open Sesame, new seed film

One of the world’s most precious resources is at risk. This timely and emotionally moving documentary, Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds, being shown this Sunday in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, illuminates what is at stake and what can be done to protect and nurture our seed supply.

Sustainable Ballard’s Meaningful Movies is hosting, and the King County Seed Lending Library will be on hand for information and to hand out free seeds. Coordinator Bill Thorness will lead a discussion on the issue after the film.

The film will be shown at the Royal Drummer Cafe, 6420 24th Ave. NW. The cafe will offer its full menu (sandwiches, salads, coffee, beer and wine).

Open Sesame flyer

About the issue

Seeds provide the basis for everything from fabric, to food to fuels. Seeds are as essential to life as the air we breathe or water we drink…but given far less attention.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), approximately 90 percent of the fruit and vegetable varieties that existed 100 years ago no longer exist today. Heritage grain is near extinction. Seeds that were lovingly nurtured over decades or even hundreds of years have been lost forever.

And yet, seed diversity is more important than ever. Maintaining seed biodiversity allows breeders to create new varieties that are resistant to pests or thrive in temperature extremes. This is essential in a changing climate.

Meanwhile, corporations are co-opting seed genetics using patent law and just a few large companies control the vast majority of the seed supply.

About the film

In this film you will meet a diverse range of individuals whose lives center around seeds. Farmers. Renegade gardeners. Passionate seed savers. Artists. Seed activists. This film tells the story of seeds by following their challenges and triumphs as they work to save this precious resource.

Sustainable Ballard’s Meaningful Movies screenings are free, but a $5 donation to offset costs is appreciated. Come early, as the Royal Drummer will be offering happy hour prices on its entire menu before the screening.

Download the OpenSesameFlyer PDF – post & share

Seed Swap Scenes

An estimated 150 gardeners attended the Great Seattle Seed Swap yesterday, scooping small handfuls of seeds into packets, sitting in on short workshops, and visiting with non-profits and Krista Rome from guest seed company Resilient Seeds. It felt good to rub elbows with other gardeners intent on planning their 2017 vegetable garden, even though it’s too early to plant.

Here are some images from the event.

Paige
Paige, assisted by online searches, helped shoppers identify traits of plant varieties offered.
Checking a list
An attendee checked a list of desired seeds.
P-Patch
P-Patch staff warmly greeted gardeners and shared info on their program.
Seed ball workshop
Christy of the Seattle Farm Co-op added water to a soil-and-seed mixture that was turned into “seed balls” filled with pollinator-attracting flower seeds for a young attendee.
Laura from Seattle Tilth shared tips on basic seed saving in a well-attended workshop.
giant allium seedhead
A giant allium seedhead contributed by an attendee.
Legume table
Beans and peas were popular.
Shopping
Attendees lined the tables to package and share seeds. Many brought packages from their own gardens.
Seed screen
A seed screen at a demo table.

If you couldn’t attend this one, see our Events listing for more area seed swaps.

Clean Seeds at Saturday’s Swap

Want to try your hand at cleaning some seeds? We’ll be doing it this Saturday at the Great Seattle Seed Swap.

We have a bunch of seeds to clean, from easy beans to tiny radish seeds, both in their pods and ready for shelling. But we also have orach, mustard and arugula. You clean it, you can take it home!

Seeds to be cleaned
A variety of seeds are waiting to be cleaned at this Saturday’s swap.
Seed screens
What does a softball have to do with seed cleaning? Come and find out this Saturday at the seed swap!

You don’t have to clean seeds (or bring them) to participate in the Great Seattle Seed Swap.

We have many seeds for sharing, all neatly organized and labeled in glass jars. We have envelopes for you to package a few that look interesting. We have a resource table for you to research seeds of interest. And we’ll have people on hand to suggest how to grow those seeds to become a great part of your garden.

Four Seed Swaps Coming: Learn and Share

Details are coming together for the Great Seattle Seed Swap, sponsored by the King County Seed Lending Library. Three swaps are planned around the city, with a fourth being held by our friends in the Snoqualmie Valley.

The first event is the 4th annual Seed Swap in Northwest Seattle (share our Facebook event), set for Saturday, Jan. 28, which is National Seed Swap Day. Get some seeds, visit with exhibitors Seattle Tilth, P-Patch, Resilient Seeds and the Seattle Farm Co-op, and enjoy three 15-minute workshops.

 Details of each swap:

Northwest Seattle: Sat., Jan. 28, 1-3 p.m., Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., in the Community Hall of the Brick Building

Snoqualmie Valley: Sat., Feb. 4, 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Cedarcrest High School, 29000 NE 150th St., Duvall

Northeast Seattle: Sat., Feb. 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Meadowbrook Community Center, NE 105th and 35th Ave/ NE

West Seattle: date/time TBA

How to participate:

  • Please bring seeds if you have them. They can be homegrown or store-bought — even partially used packets. They should be recent, 3 years old or less. No hybrids or GMO seeds.
  • If you will be bringing seeds to swap, please arrive at the beginning of the event to set out your seeds.
  • Make a display card for your seeds stating the variety, year saved, and brief notes about growing the plant.
  • It is not necessary to bring seeds to participate.
  • Seeds will be organized by type of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers.
  • Attendees will be asked to limit the seeds they take so all may share in the supply.
  • You may donate your extra seeds to the seed lending library, which will have them available throughout the year.

At the Northwest Seattle event, enjoy these 15-minute workshops:

1:30-1:45 Basic Seed Saving – Laura Matter, Seattle Tilth

2:00-2:15 Make a Seed Ball! – Christy Cusick, Seattle Farm Co-op

2:30-2:45 Meet Our Bioregional Seed Companies – Bill Thorness, KCSLL

A resource table of books, seed catalogs and other material will be available for browsing.

At the Northeast Seattle event on Feb. 11, gardening author Bill Thorness, coordinator of the Northwest Seattle library branch, will give a lunchtime talk on seed starting and the seed-saving movement at noon.

Contact us to volunteer for a seed swap!

Join Us at Great Seattle Seed Swap, Jan. 28

Want to try Brightest Brilliant Quinoa? How about Roquette Arugula? Vit Corn Salad? Maybe Pellegrini Beans, Purple Orach, or the simple but beautiful Lemon Queen Sunflower? They’ll all be at our Great Seattle Seed Swap and ready for your garden.

The 4th annual Seed Swap will be held Saturday, Jan. 28, 1-3 p.m., at the Phinney Neighborhood Center in northwest Seattle (Community Hall, Brick Building, enter from lower parking lot).

  • Chat with other gardeners and seed-savers about favorite varieties.
  • Review the library’s table of catalogs, books and resources.
  • Visit the Seattle Tilth table for information on their programs.
  • Attend a brief workshop.

Want to make a “seed ball”? That’s one of the 15-minute workshops that will be offered at the event. Others will be on simple seed saving and learning about our bioregional seed companies.

See our Events page for other swaps.

For more information or to volunteer, drop us a line!